St. Clare to lay off 25 employees

By Tim Damos / News Republic

Citing economic hardships, a Baraboo health care provider will close its elderly mental health unit and discontinue psychiatric services by early March.

The move by St. Clare Hospital & Health Services will result in job losses for 25 employees and could cause hardship for some of the hospital's elderly patients and their families.

"We must make difficult decisions to ensure the long-term viability of the hospital to serve our community," said St. Clare President Sandy Anderson. "This was one of those very difficult decisions."

The hospital has seen losses of about $1.5 million since 2007 from operating its Clarion Center and offering other psychiatric services, Anderson said.

The center offered inpatient and outpatient mental health services for 110 older adults last year.

An increased number of patients without health insurance, coupled with an overall depressed economy and hardships related to June floods, made operating the Clarion Center cost-innefective, Anderson said, adding that losses were starting to threaten other needed health care services at the hospital.

Providers throughout the area utilize St. Clare's psychiatric services, and will have to find alternative programs for their patients. That could mean patients and their families will have to travel as far as La Crosse or Madison in some cases, said Brenda Reisdorph, Clinical Director of Senior services at the Reedsburg Area Senior Life Center.

"I'm not exactly sure where we'd send our people, but I do know that the distance would cause a great hardship for our patients and their families," she said.

Reisdorph oversees an assisted living program at the Reedsburg Area Medical Center. Aside from referring patients to the Baraboo Clarion Center, she said her staff frequently consults with St. Clare experts while working with patients.

"They've just been a good asset for our operation over the years," Reisdorph said.

Sauk County Human Services Director Bill Orth said his department uses the Clarion Center mainly for voluntary hospitalizations — about one a month. Staff will have to start using Madison hospitals and psych wards as much as possible, Orth said.

Employees were notified of the decision Tuesday during a series of meetings, said hospital spokesman Kevin Grohskopf. The hospital will help employees explore other employment options within St. Clare or elsewhere and offer them a severance package based on years of service, the hospital's news release said.

The release also said the hospital will notify patients of the closing and help them make a smooth transition to other psychiatric programs.